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Gopherchase

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He really is almost the total package with a great culture, good kids in the program, recruiting and talent upgrades, hard worker and just an overall good dude. For him to take the next step in the coaching echelon and for us to take the next step as a program he needs to more consistently have rock solid game plans on the offensive side of the ball and he needs to become a much better in game coach. There is no reason we threw the ball only more than the academies last year he needs to be more flexible with his fixation on ball control. He should mature into a better in game coach but really haven’t seen it, yet. Otherwise, and even with some things he does that bug me, we are blessed to have him as our coach as he’s ushered in The Golden Age Gopher’s football post the 60’s. Should be a fun year.
 



Gopherchase said:
He really is almost the total package with a great culture, good kids in the program, recruiting and talent upgrades, hard worker and just an overall good dude. For him to take the next step in the coaching echelon and for us to take the next step as a program he needs to more consistently have rock solid game plans on the offensive side of the ball and he needs to become a much better in game coach. There is no reason we threw the ball only more than the academies last year he needs to be more flexible with his fixation on ball control. He should mature into a better in game coach but really haven’t seen it, yet. Otherwise, and even with some things he does that bug me, we are blessed to have him as our coach as he’s ushered in The Golden Age Gopher’s football post the 60’s. Should be a fun year.
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Plus it's like 3 or 4 for the price of 1.
 




He has definitely made some decisions that I haven't liked (he loves punting way too much), but on the plus side he did coach circles around Chryst in the axe game last year. I don't think PJ is a great in-game coach yet, but I also think we are quick to criticize his bad moves without giving him credit for when he does things well. I'm also optimistic that with competent coordinators on both sides of the ball he will be able to focus more on the high-level coaching stuff. At least that's my hope.
 

Gopherchase said:
He really is almost the total package with a great culture, good kids in the program, recruiting and talent upgrades, hard worker and just an overall good dude. For him to take the next step in the coaching echelon and for us to take the next step as a program he needs to more consistently have rock solid game plans on the offensive side of the ball and he needs to become a much better in game coach. There is no reason we threw the ball only more than the academies last year he needs to be more flexible with his fixation on ball control. He should mature into a better in game coach but really haven’t seen it, yet. Otherwise, and even with some things he does that bug me, we are blessed to have him as our coach as he’s ushered in The Golden Age Gopher’s football post the 60’s. Should be a fun year.
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Fleck has a lot of Jim Tressel in him. He'll need to lose some of that in order to reduce his fixation on ball control.
 







Gophers1992 said:
He has definitely made some decisions that I haven't liked (he loves punting way too much), but on the plus side he did coach circles around Chryst in the axe game last year. I don't think PJ is a great in-game coach yet, but I also think we are quick to criticize his bad moves without giving him credit for when he does things well. I'm also optimistic that with competent coordinators on both sides of the ball he will be able to focus more on the high-level coaching stuff. At least that's my hope.
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PJ will do just like he asks his players to do - Change his best! PJ has continued to gROW and improve as a coach with KC returning he has his sounding board back and an OC with a knack for play calling to his players strengths. He will use BSF, he will put Morgan in great positions, use Wright to stretch the field, CrAB! 1st down! I could go on and on...I am giddy! 7 days! Saw gophers at the fair today!!! LFG!!! RTB! SKI U MAH!!
 




I’m glad he is the Gopher’s coach. That said, it isn’t without a couple rough edges.

Despite a first impression of a “snake oil salesman” - his teams are the exact opposite of what you’d expect from that reputation. They are incredibly disciplined (hardly any false starts, personal fouls, etc.). They also play as well on the road as they do at home.

By all accounts his practices are extremely well managed and maximize every nanosecond in terms of player development and learning.

Off the field problems are nearly nonexistent despite the team consisting of 120 guys in their teens and low 20’s. All these “clues” don’t add up if the coach is a snake oil salesman.

I’d say the biggest rough edge is he has made a couple bad hires for his top coordinator jobs. He hired a defensive coordinator that seemed to produce a defense that progressively got worse at his previous job. And that is exactly what happened here.

He then replaced the O coordinator with a guy that seemed to preside over offenses that got progressively worse at previous jobs, especially as it related to the QB role. And that is exactly what happened here.

To his credit, he did move to replace the bad coordinators pretty quickly. But, those situations stand in contrast to the big picture of a program that seems to be very well managed. It definitely cost wins in 2018 and 2021 though.
 

highwayman said:
Your fixation with video game football
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Snapping the ball before the play clock has one second left isn’t “video game football”. If it is, every team except us and the service academies played video game football last year.
 

Replacement Gopher said:
Snapping the ball before the play clock has one second left isn’t “video game football”. If it is, every team except us and the service academies played video game football last year.
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It can definitely be annoying, especially when the offense is struggling, but the only time I truly have a problem with it is that we tend to stay in it way too long. Watching us snap the ball on our own 15 with one second on the play clock to run inside zone with less than six minutes to play against BG is seared into my memory.

Otherwise, Fleck is everything that we hoped, and seems to be less “salesman-y” each year. Also, I think this year is crucial to see if Fleck will stay here long term. If we have another solid season and can retain him, then I think the $$ from the TV deal will allow us to match salary for a long time.
 

btowngopher said:
Is that a bad thing though? Jim Tressel was a good coach.
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He was a great coach for his time. I'm not sure his brand of ball would have kept tOSU in the top tier over the last decade+. He'd probably still do well with the service academies though.
 
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Happy to have PJ as coach. As with any program, there are growing pains and we have had our fair share.

The ball is the program. Take care of it and the rest should follow.

Very excited for this year.
 

Lmao, ball control is a bad thing?! Right, because giving the opponent more opportunities to possess the ball is the winning strategy.
 


Replacement Gopher said:
Snapping the ball before the play clock has one second left isn’t “video game football”. If it is, every team except us and the service academies played video game football last year.
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And "always" snapping the ball with 1 second left makes the timing of the snap very predictable, which in my humble and irrelevant opinion gives the advantage to the defense, the pass rushers etc.., know exactly when to go when it is at the end of the play clock ALL the time
 

GoldGoldGold said:
And "always" snapping the ball with 1 second left makes the timing of the snap very predictable, which in my humble and irrelevant opinion gives the advantage to the defense, the pass rushers etc.., know exactly when to go when it is at the end of the play clock ALL the time
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It may be predictable to the fans in the stands, but if you’re on the field you’re paying attention to keys you’ve been watching during film study and formations. You’re also watching for player tendencies that you have noticed like hand placements, etc. There’s just too much for you to concentrate on to be watching the clock. Quarterback would be the one exception.
 


graydon said:
Scintillating title for this thread!
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It's not the Pearl Jam discussion thread I thought it would be. Eddie and Stone were guests of Eric Kaler for the Gopher/Purdue game in 2014. Vedder referenced the Santos game winning FG the next day during their show at the Xcel.
 


Replacement Gopher said:
Snapping the ball before the play clock has one second left isn’t “video game football”. If it is, every team except us and the service academies played video game football last year.
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Over half of the 2023 recruiting class has service academy offers.

Our strategy is like being that guy who plays Madden while eating a sandwich and bickering with his girlfriend on the phone and taking foooor-evvvvvv-errrrrrr to call a play.
 

"Our" Progress Jam!

 
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Gopherchase said:
He really is almost the total package with a great culture, good kids in the program, recruiting and talent upgrades, hard worker and just an overall good dude. For him to take the next step in the coaching echelon and for us to take the next step as a program he needs to more consistently have rock solid game plans on the offensive side of the ball and he needs to become a much better in game coach. There is no reason we threw the ball only more than the academies last year he needs to be more flexible with his fixation on ball control. He should mature into a better in game coach but really haven’t seen it, yet. Otherwise, and even with some things he does that bug me, we are blessed to have him as our coach as he’s ushered in The Golden Age Gopher’s football post the 60’s. Should be a fun year.
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PJ has shown the ability to grow and change as in change from Smith to Rossi and then taking the offense out of Sanford's hands after Illinois last year. He will continue to grow.

Ball / clock control is associated here with heavy run regimen. Great teams control the clock and ball by making first downs. That means a balanced attack to keep the defense spread and guessing.
 

RogueGopher said:
Lmao, ball control is a bad thing?! Right, because giving the opponent more opportunities to possess the ball is the winning strategy.
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Except giving them more possessions after you have just scored is not a bad strategy either. Ball control is first downs and scoring, not running time off the play clock.
 

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